C’ River govt, NUT disagree over alleged 4000 ghost workers
The Cross River State Government and the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Cross River chapter, have disagreed over claims surrounding the alleged existence of 4,000 ghost workers in the state’s local government system.
The dispute followed allegations by the state NUT chairman during a recent protest that many teachers were still owed salaries for previous months and that the promotions of some members had not been implemented.
The disagreement came to the fore during a meeting convened in Calabar by the Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Victor-Felix Idem, with labour leaders and education stakeholders.
Speaking at the meeting, Idem said the government uncovered widespread payroll irregularities through a verification exercise involving workers’ Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs).
According to him, more than 2,000 teachers and several other local government workers were flagged for submitting invalid or suspicious BVNs during the exercise.
“We discovered 1,200 fake BVNs in the local government councils, 526 in the Primary Health Centres, 643 among political appointees, and 2,000 in the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB),” he said.
The commissioner alleged that some BVNs were fake, while others were linked to multiple identities, raising concerns about payroll fraud and the existence of ghost workers.
He maintained that the verification exercise was aimed at sanitising the payroll system and ensuring that only genuine workers received salaries.
Idem also dismissed claims that the ministry paid workers half salaries, insisting that salary payments were handled directly by local government councils.
He challenged the NUT leadership to provide evidence, including payslips and records of affected workers, to substantiate the allegations.
Responding, the Chairman of the Cross River NUT, Gregory Olayi, defended the union’s position and expressed concern over unpaid salaries and irregularities in the implementation of promotions.
Olayi said several teachers had remained unpaid since September despite complying with directives to submit payroll and BVN documents.
He also alleged that some teachers experienced salary reductions after promotion adjustments were initially implemented.
The union leader, however, endorsed the government’s payroll verification exercise, stressing the need to eliminate ghost workers and safeguard public funds.
He urged the ministry to improve communication with labour unions to prevent misunderstandings and unnecessary public disputes, adding that the union would provide records to help clear genuine workers affected by the verification process.
Also speaking, the Auditor-General for Local Governments, Bassey Eko, said a review of salary implementation revealed the need to verify approved promotions and assess their financial implications.
Eko explained that SUBEB had been directed to provide comprehensive records of promotions and their implementation, warning that delays in doing so contributed to the suspension of payments for some staff.
According to him, the exercise is aimed at preventing payroll fraud and ensuring accountability, while concerns remain over the absence of SUBEB officials from meetings convened to address the matter.